Method of rendering ships unsinkable.



'WILLIAM T. DONNELLY, OF BROOKLYN, NTW YORK METHOD 0F RENDERING SHIIfS'IUNSI] KABLE. l

Specification of Letters P'tent.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

Applicationrled August 28. 1914. Serial No. 359.014.

0 all whom 'it may concern:

Ue it known that l. \\`n.|.i.\u 'l`. l)ox xnmn'. a citizen ol' the l'nted States; and a resident ot Brooklyn. in the county ol" l\'ings and State oi New York. have invented certain new and useful lmprovenwnts in Methods o't' Rendering Ships [lnsinlnible oi which the following is a speeilication.

'lhe invention relates to a method l'or insuring the saiety ot a ship and its cargo by rendering the same practically unsi'nltable should the vessel become water logged: or. in castl ot breaking up ot' the hull., to insure that the whole. or at least a portion. of the cargo would float and could be reclaimed without damage.

'l`o this end. the invention consists in disposing in the. vessel suitable water-tight; cells whose combined lloating power or buoyancy is greater than the total leil'ective weight ol" the ship and cargo; or. in employing a portion or the whole ot' such cells as containers t'or the cargo. the individual cells being loaded to stu-h au extent only that they will be able to' float in the water and to alt'ord the required buoyancy to retain the ship afloat.

ln the` accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention'. Figure l is aside elevation otE a 'freight carrying vessel pro vided with a sheltel deck. a main deck. a second deckY and a third deck. ["gs to ti are diagrammatic \'ie\vs substantially a eross-section ot" the vessel` illustrating the storage capacity and disposition ot' the cargo. '.lhe. legends above the various Figs. 3 to (l set. forth the character ot' the cargo and the. ratio ot' the protected cargo to that which mightbe carrietl with the space available tor the particular ship. 'lhedegends to the lett oi the center line. indicate the usual loading 'tor therespective spaces between the various det-lts. while the legends to the rightl ol the center line illustrate. with the particular character ot' the cargo employed. the disposition of the containers` and the volume. to be occupied by the. same to render the ship non-sinkable.

Similar characters ot' reference designatey corresponding pants throughout the several views. ,t

Referring to the drawings, 1() designates the, hull of a fr yer which is divided into a main deck 1l. a second deck t9. and n third deck t3. A shelter deeltt4. moreover, may

be provided: Ind the vessel is designed-to carry titoli() tms d ead weight. eoal't'or 1:2 days. t'resh wate and stores. the storage eapacities for tie various decks being indicated in ["ig. 2.

ll. the t'reil terbe loaded with material such as grain. for exalnple wheat. (Fig, Si) the. entire loading space ma)- not be enlployed to receive the.grain. lult a portion 1? ol. the space letween the second and third decks is filled with empty water-tight cells [indicated but not shown in detail)`\\'hich may be ot' su table shape to tit closely to gether and pr lvterably be about oi the size ol' an ordinaiy .barret .\loreover. a Considerable portion lt ot' the spaee between the main and :.eeond decks is to be similarly occupied by such cells. 'lbe remaining spare `lT between thil second and third decks and the entire spa 'e 1b between the third deek and the ship`: bottom is loaded with the grain` but wl ich is contained in similar eells. Should the vessel break apart. the containers would` therefore. still tloat about with their cargo which could be reclaimed, it being unde1-tood that the loading ot' the individual containers is such as to retain the latter atloat :nd to provide the required buoyancy t'or he vessel. 'l`he load percentage is. houx-wir.` somewhat' reduced. being but approximitely .tt: but the added security attorded thereby` not only to the vessel and its cre l\' but also to the cargo itself. more than compensates for the reduced earrying capacit).

ln ["ig. -l. the disposition in the ease ot' a load ol eoa is illustrated. the spare between thel tbirl deck and bottom as well as 'a small porti( n l0 between theseeond and third decks bting lilled with the loose coal. The remainint' space, :1 between the second and third det-hs and the entire space 'x22 between the main .deelt and secotul deck is filled with cells. butin which no cargo is inelilded. 'l`hefload percentage is still `turther reduced in this case and is approximately 7S.

Referring ti Fig. 5. a loading of ore is illustrated. anl a considerably greater portion lot the space is required to bc occupied 'by th air tig-1t containers. The load per` .rendering the ship unsinkable varies from t0 20 per cent.; and the amount of cargo put into :i container is governed by its specific gravity and is in such quantity only that the container itself is nonl-sinkable. In case of breakin up of a ship, a container, therefore, woul not only serve to preserve its contents,v but, particularly in the cese of the em ty cells, would serve as a support or life-ra t for the crew. It is understood, of course, with respectto the use of the cells as hereinbefore set forth, that the construction of the various decks is such that they will be cfipable of withstanding the upward thrust due to the said cells, should the vessel become waterlogged.

Lclailm- I1. The method of loading ships which consists in confining between decks water tight containers :und loading a container with cargo to such :in extent only that it will iont in water und will afford its portion of the buoyancy required to maintain the ship ufiont when Water logged.

2. The method of loading ships, which consists'in confining between decks water tight containers and distributing the entire cargo amongr the individual containers, each of which, however, is loaded to such en extent only,thnt it will iont in water and will afford its portion of the buoyancy required to maintain the vessel nfiont when water logged.

Signed :it New York, in the county of New York, and Stute of New York, this th dey' of August A. 1'). 1914.

VVILLAM T. DONNELLY.

Witnesses:

Fimoir F. Sonor/rz, GEO. W. Els'eNmme. 

